CHAPTER 4 - BROTHERS

Luffy and his grandfather trot through the mountainous tree landscape of Mt. Corvo, approaching a small wooden shack. The light permeates through the trees, brightening the shadowed forest, and showing the cracks and damage on the wooden shack. Luffy looks around and realizes that this was the mountain bandits' hideout, the one his grandfather had mentioned. Using his Kenbunshoku Haki, Luffy peers through the shack walls to sense many people inside. He felt a sense of warmth and community between them. Luffy internally questions this, because until this point, he hasn't been able to sense more than someone's presence with his Kenbunshoku Haki, but he was arriving at the door, so he bookmarks the thought for now.

BANG BANG BANG - could be heard as the elderly man wails on the door.

"Who's knocking on our door at this hour, do you want to die-" can be heard from behind the door. As she opens the door, she immediately recognizes the man in front of her, halting her rant.

"G-g-g-g-ga-ga - GARP!?" The visibly shaken lady shouts. This lady, quite overweight with long orange hair bright in braids, stares with shock at the man. "Hey Dadan! I've got another one for you to look after," the muscular old man calmly states barring a cheeky smile. He picks up his grandson by his Straw Hat, as he fights to get out of it.

"NOT ANOTHER ONE!? Garp… please have mercy on us. Just one is enough." The lady shouts. Garp just laughs, but amidst his laughing, Luffy flips up onto his arm, activates his Busoshoku Haki, and chops him in the arm, catching the elder by surprise. Luffy falls out of his arm, and back onto the floor, as Garp's expression changes.
"JI-CHAN! DON'T PICK ME UP LIKE THAT!" The child screams. "LUFFY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The old man shouts. They immediately begin "sparring", but it is more like Garp is throwing soft punches that Luffy is avoiding.

The lady is lost in all this. To her, it looks like a 5-year-old kid just damaged the world's greatest navy hero, and is now avoiding all hits from him. So, she just stares with a dropped jaw.

Amidst this spar, a giant crocodile begins walking out of a nearby bush. Luffy immediately sensed this and turned around. Garp did as well, so he stopped punching Luffy for now and watched this crocodile walk towards them. Luffy could sense a presence on the top of it, as the crocodile walked out of the nearby tree's shadow, showing a boy, slightly older than himself, on top of it.

"SO COOOOOOL! Hey, what's your name? Can we be friends?!" Luffy immediately shouts. Garp just put his hand on his face. The boy atop the crocodile immediately spits at Luffy in response. Luffy, using his Kenbunshoku haki moved his face out of the way to avoid the projectile.

"OI! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" Luffy shouts. "I wouldn't be friends with a pathetic little loser like you anyway," the boy retorts.

The sounds of lightning could be heard in an immediate response. The crocodile immediately passes out, as child Luffy slowly struts towards the narcissistic kid. The kid was on the floor, crushed by the immense pressure Luffy was giving off. "Wha-wha-what are you?" The kid immediately responds, as he has never had a feeling of such overwhelming dread come to his mind.

Luffy arrives at the child, on his hands and knees. "Your new friend!" Luffy shut off his Haoshoku Haki and a bright 'Luffy-like' smile adorned his face.

"…" Is all that could be heard from the bent-over child. Just silence with an open jaw. Eventually, he musters the courage to respond with, "Ok… I guess you're not bad…"

Luffy just laughs. Garp, through this whole encounter, wore a smile, hoping that Luffy's strength would rub off on the boy. Dadan, however, was still paralyzed by fear. 'A child just released a presence reminiscent of a king', is what flowed through her mind. "Garp… there's no way I could take in this monster!" Garp immediately counters with a grim voice, "Ok, well then I guess I'll just beat you all up and let you rot in Impel Down." Dadan's expression froze. "Ok, ok, the boy is staying with us then!"

Back to Luffy and the boy. "So, what's your name?" Luffy curiously questions.

"…Ace… Portgas D. Ace". The boy replies.

"Well, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who's going to be the King of the P-" Luffy stops himself, glancing over to his Grandfather who was staring at him like he was going to get it later. Luffy coughs and continues, "I want to be the most free person in the world!" Luffy finishes. Luffy sticks out his hand to Ace, who's still on all fours atop the crocodile. Ace takes it and stands up.

"Well… Luffy, Ace. It's time I'm off!" The elder lovingly states. Luffy frowned, and Ace wore an indifferent expression. "Ok, just don't blame me when you break your him, Jiji." Ace smugly states. Garp turned to Ace screaming, "IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL YOUR GRANDFATHER, AFTER ALL THE LOVE I'VE GIVEN YOU?" Garp roars. Ace's face turns pale. He grabs Luffy's arm, much to Luffy's surprise, and then takes off running.

"BYE JI-CHAN!" Luffy yells, calming the elder.

"Sigh. Well, I guess he's in good hands. Dadan, take good care of them." The elder quietly remarks.

"YES, OF COURSE GARP!" Dadan immediately replied, hoping for no reason for Garp to punish her any further.

With that, Garp leaves, and Luffy and Ace are running wild in the forest.

1 Year Later

Luffy and Ace get along well. Whenever he would try and spar with Luffy, Luffy would just beat him in one punch (without haki), and laugh. The score is 100-0. Luffy had also met Sabo, who had a much nicer and more diplomatic introduction. The three became best friends. The sparring score between the three of them is 200 - Luffy, 93 - Sabo, and 107 - Ace. Luffy hasn't lost a fight or has needed to be pushed beyond one punch.

However, Luffy's been growing in skill like wildfire. Luffy has perfected his "Gomu Gomu no Pistol", "Gomu Gomu no Fusen", and his "Gomu Gomu no Whip" techniques. He can use them without recoil at all. He'd also been working on a plethora of other moves, but they're nowhere near the level of mastery the aforementioned techniques are at. There's only the sky left for him to take.

With Ace, Sabo, and Luffy - Mt. Corvo

At night time, by the dimly lit fire, Ace pulls out a bottle of sake and plants it on a tree stump. He pours sake into three little ceramic shot glasses.

"From this day forth, we are brothers! I swear that on this bottle of sake, we will form the "Straw Hat Pirates, with our brother Luffy at the helm!"

Ace wears an excited expression, Sabo wears a light smile, and Luffy is smiling ear-to-ear.

"Together, I will be the King of the Pirates!" Luffy happily shouts. Ace and Sabo shout loudly in agreement.

"Together, I will become a famous pirate!" Ace happily shouts. Luffy and Sabo shout loudly in agreement.

"Together, I will travel around the world as a pirate!" Sabo happily shouts. Luffy and Ace shout loudly in agreement.

"CHEERS!" They all three shout, and immediately inhale their sake.

As they finish, they all recoil due to the harsh taste of the alcohol but smile throughout the pain.

"From this day forward, we're brothers!" Luffy shouts.

The Next Day - Mt. Corvo Forest

"Who's that big guy next to our stash?" Luffy questions. A large man was standing right next to where the brothers hid their treasure. The trio were on a tree branch, hiding behind the leaves. "He's one of Bluejam's men," Sabo replies. "Bluejam is an infamous pirate in these parts, and he's the guy who we've been stealing treasure from. We shouldn't mess with him." Sabo continues in a whisper, not to alarm the bulky man meters below them.

Without any notice, Luffy rockets off the tree branch, leaving Ace and Sabo holding their arms out trying to grab Luffy before he does anything stupid. Luffy flies down with a black colored arm. As the man turns, he sees a fist right in front of his face, cleaving the man right in the head.

"CLANG" Could be heard, as blood came right out of the man's mouth. Luffy flips off of the falling man's body and lands on his feet. He immediately gives off his signature laugh.

Ace and Sabo jumped down, Ace kicking Luffy in the ass. "LUFFY, DID YOU NOT HEAR ANYTHING WE JUST SAID!?" Sabo yells. "NOW, WE'LL BE AN ENEMY OF BLUEJAM!" Ace shouts. However, the boys were shouting while hiding his surprise. In none of their spars did Luffy perform like he had just now.

Luffy just turns around and laughs. "Well, I guess the first bounty of our crew is to take down Bluejam!"

Ace and Sabo just sighed. They knew they wouldn't get through to Luffy, so they agreed. That, and Luffy seemed to have a kind of strength otherworldly from them.

The trio drags the man down their path, straight into what looks like a trash dump.

2 Hours Later - Gray Terminal

Beyond the dump, however, were beautiful castle walls, with a huge palace peering over them. This place is called "Gray Terminal". The trio would often come here to raid it for parts.

"Bluejam's territory should be over here. Let's pay him a visit." A nervous Ace remarks. They find a shack, similar to the one of the Mt. Corvo bandits. They all 3 glance at each other, before Luffy slams through the wall, leaving only half the house left.

BOOOM

"Where's Bluejam?" The child says, as he throws to body of the big man they had taken out into the middle of the house. As the dust clears from Luffy's attack, they see 30 men cramped on Lunch tables, with a tall man wearing a stupid haircut talking to them.

"PORCHEMY!" The tall man shouts, and all the men shout in surprise. The residents all turn their faces to the child.

"WHO DID THIS?" "BLUEJAM, KILL THE KID!" "WHAT THE FUCK, HOW DID PORCHEMY GET BEATEN BY A KID?" Could be heard all across the room.

Luffy just laughs, then draws a serious face. "Ace, Sabo, take care of the underlings. I'll take Bluejam."

"YES CAPTAIN!" Could be heard from both of the boys, as they rush in, tag-teaming each of the members of the Bluejam Pirates before they could even respond. However, the battle seemed to clear to a 50-50, as the crewmates awoke from their shock.

"YOU BOY, I'LL KILL YOU!" The tall man shouts. "So you're Bluejam I take it," Luffy replies. "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO I AM, BECAUSE I'LL END YOU!" Bluejam shouts at the top of his lungs.

Luffy just laughs in reply, as he releases a monstrous wave of Haoshoku Haki, causing everyone except Ace and Sabo to collapse. "Captain, you didn't have to make it that easy for us…" Ace remarks.

"Sorry, Ace," Luffy replies.
Bluejam was already on his knees. "Wai-wa" Bluejam was pleading, unaware of anything happening except the extreme pressure on his mind. He was terrified.

Luffy immediately kicks his leg up, smashing a hole through the ceiling of the remnants of the shack.

"GOMU GOMU NO… BATTLE AXE!" His foot comes crashing down, the speed multiplying every second due to the elasticity of his body. It turns to black as he smashes it into the skull of the pleading man, pushing a crater into the floor.

BOOOM

Bluejam coughed up blood and passed out. Luffy made sure to hold back enough to not kill him. As the dust settled, he saw Ace and Sabo with their jaws to the floor. "Thank you for holding back on us Luffy…" Sabo remarks.

"This? This is nothing" Luffy begins to laugh, reminiscent of his grandfathers.

Ace and Sabo just look at each other and grin. They chose the right person to have as their captain. Luffy grabs Bluejam's wanted poster from off the wall of the shack.

Luffy has Ace and Sabo grab the body of the coughing Bluejam, as they all leave the scene of bodies piled up on the floor.

30 Minutes Later - Goa Kingdom Gate

They arrive at the front gates of the big city (Goa Kingdom) and tell the guards they have a bounty they want to take in. The guard just laughs at them, thinking they were holding some ordinary dude. "Aw, so you kids just need some money huh? We'll I'm not sure if this guy is worth anything…" Luffy just sighs and holds up the wanted poster. "…FOURTEEN MILLION BERIS!?" The guard shouts. The trio just look at each other and laugh.

The guard let them in, only to return the bounty. Any loitering and they would be joining Bluejam in a cellar. The guards don't normally let anyone into the kingdom, but this is an exception. They are holding Dawn Island's greatest threat.

The trio strolls into the Marine Camp and deals with a similar reaction to the guard. The shocked guard gave them their bounty, sparing no cent, and the trio immediately left the kingdom.

"Luffy… where did you get that strong?" Sabo asks.

"Like I said, that was nothing. But yeah, Ji-chan trained me for a month."
"That's it? I trained with Jiji for 3 months, but I'm still nothing compared to that?" Ace replies.

"Well… Ji-chan did say I was a prodigy after everything we did. Well, anyway, I'll teach you guys what I know to make you strong! But, I still won't stop getting stronger! AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Luffy laughs, following his statement.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We'll catch up to you in no time!" Ace replies, ready to get stronger. Sabo gives Luffy an ambitious smirk.

9 Years Later - Foosha Village

"Well, I guess it's time for us to head out!" The straw-hat-adorned teenager states. Followed by Ace and Sabo, they board a little dinghy. The cries and cheers of the villagers could be heard.

"BE SAFE GUYS!"
"DON'T FORGET TO EAT!"

"WE'LL MISS YOU!"

"GO GET EM!"

Could be heard from the sea of villagers.

Luffy smirks as he unfurls the small sail.

"SET SAIL!" Luffy shouts with excitement.

"YEAHHHHHH" Ace and Sabo shout.

CHAPTER 4 - END

So now, we're here at the start of Luffy's adventure. Accompanied by his brothers this time, how will Luffy shape the pirate world?

Ages

Luffy - 15

Ace - 18

Sabo - 18

Bounties

Straw-Hat Crew Bounty - 0 Berries

Monkey D. Luffy - 0 Berries

Portgas D. Ace - 0 Berries

Sabo - 0 Berries

Abilities

Luffy

After 10 years of training, Luffy learned how to utilize Advanced Kenbunshoku Haki, allowing him to peer 10 seconds into the future, along with Advanced Busoshoku Haki (Ryou), allowing his attacks to damage his opponents from the inside out.

He's learned to use his rubber body to pump his heart, doing what is called "blood-doping". This created his Gear Second transformation. He also learned to use the elasticity of his bones to blow them up to gigantic proportions, creating the Gear Third Technique. About 2 years before his departure, he came up with a new transformation combining his Busoshoku Haki with his Gear Third, creating his Gear Fourth transformation. He could use various modes, one for all-around attacks (called Bounce Man), one for high-speed attacks (Snake Man), and one for pure defense (Tank Man).

He also has a variety of moves at his disposal. He can throw his arms so fast, he can create a barrage (Gomu Gomu no Gatling). He can use his legs like a spear when he's in the air "Gomu Gomu no Spear". He can throw his arms back, and use the elasticity to launch anyone in front of him (Gomu Gomu no Bazooka) These are accompanied by a plethora of other moves. Many have combined uses with transformations and Haki to create more advanced versions of each move.

Ace

Ace is a master of hand-to-hand combat. He needs no weapon, as his agility makes up for the lack of range. He has near mastery of basic Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku Haki and has picked up near mastery with Haoshoku. It's not on par with Luffy's but it's still very potent.

Sabo

Sabo is a unique fighter. He spent 5 years developing his own martial arts style, which he calls the "Ryusoken". He uses his fingers to penetrate and crush anything, whether it's metal, skin, or bone. This is also greatly assisted by his basic but potent usage of Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku Haki. Again, not on par with Luffy's but greater than Ace's.

Author's Note: Hey guys! So, you might have noticed that this chapter is FAR smaller than usual. I wanted to compact the remaining childhood material into a bite-sized read before getting to the main story. I also decided NOT to give Luffy advanced haoshoku haki, just out of the fact of him needing to grow, since all he's missing right now is that and Gear 5.

I know I took a while to make this chapter, but I've been working, going to college, and moving for the last month and a half, so please have a shred of mercy on me in the reviews.

With that said, I look forward to seeing you next time!